AMC programming returns to Dish with lawsuit settlement

Dish Network subscribers will get their AMC programming back tonight thanks to the settling of a lawsuit between the two companies.

Satellite TV provider Dish has agreed to pay $700 million in cash to AMC Networks, and in turn will receive licenses for wireless multichannel video distribution and data service in 45 markets, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and Philadelphia. Under a separate multiyear agreement, Dish will resume broadcasting the AMC channel tonight on channel 131. Programming on Sundance Channel, WE tv, and IFC will resume on November 1.

"We are glad to have settled the case and reestablished our long-term relationships with AMC Networks and Cablevision," Dave Shull, senior vice president of programming at Dish, said in a statement announcing the deal. "This multiyear deal delivers a fair value for both parties and includes digital expansion opportunities for AMC Networks' programming."

Dish dropped AMC's channels from its lineup on June 30, claiming that the network's programming, which includes "Breaking Bad" and "Mad Men," didn't justify the increased fees the TV network was demanding.

However, AMC countered that fees were never an issue and that the channels were dropped "in retaliation for an unrelated lawsuit" over Dish's 2008 decision to drop the lightly viewed Voom Networks, an independent subsidiary of AMC.

The deal brings to end a dispute over whether Dish breached an affiliate agreement by terminating AMC's Voom HD Network in 2008. At a trial that began in late September, AMC sought some $2.4 billion in damages from what it believed was Dish's improper termination. Dish had defended itself by saying that it had the authority to cancel the Voom deal based on a contractual clause requiring Cablevision/AMC to invest $100 million per year on the channel. The parties disagreed on whether that money had to go to programming or whether overhead could be included.

As part of the deal to cut short the weeks-long trial, and on top of the $700 million cash settlement, Dish has also reached a new carriage agreement with AMC, bringing theWalking Dead network back to the satellite distributor along with IFC, Sundance, and WE TV. The return of these channels comes months after they were dropped by Dish, leading to relentless commercials from AMC telling fans of Breaking Bad and Walking Dead to abandon Dish.

As part of the agreement between the parties, Dish is also paying an additional $80 million to receive certain wireless spectrum licenses.

“We are glad to have settled the case and reestablished our long-term relationshipswith AMC Networks and Cablevision,” said Dave Shull, senior vice president of programming at Dish. “This multi-year deal delivers a fair value for both parties and includes digital expansion opportunities for AMC Networks’ programming.”